The El Capitan is a historic movie theater in Hollywood, and was revitalized by the Disney company in the 1980s, and now shows exclusively movies from Disney and its subsidiary companies.
Before the movie opened on Friday, there were some negative reviews of the movie itself (here's a link to the New York Times review), unusual for a Pixar movie, and some cynical articles about Disney's motivation to create a sequel based on marketing instead of artistic reasons (one in the Los Angeles Times). Many of Pixar's movies can be equally enjoyed by children and adults, and the bad reviews may reflect the fact that Cars 2 is really a kids' spy movie set around the world of car racing. Walking in with pretty low expectations, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a strong family film, but not something I think most adults would choose to watch.
We parked across the street at the Hollywood & Highland complex, next door to the historic Grauman's Chinese Theatre and home of the newer Kodak Theatre, the site of the annual Academy Awards show. In front of the complex stand various entertainers dressed as movie and pop culture characters like Iron Man, Spiderman, and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. They make money by providing tourists visiting Hollywood a chance to take photos with characters from the movies.
The tickets for the El Capitan are somewhat expensive (General admission is $22 for adults, $18 for children. These are the back 2/3 of the balcony section. Reserved seats, which make up the entire orchestra section and the front of the balcony, are $30 for adults or children, and include popcorn and a drink), but included with any ticket is admission to the carnival after the movie. Other Disney movies I have seen at the El Capitan have included a ten to fifteen minute stage show with Disney characters before the main show.
We got to Hollywood about 90 minutes before the movie started to get a good seat in the general admission section, which is first-come, first served. While waiting in line (we passed the time by watching the first Cars movie on a portable DVD player), we were encouraged to download a smart phone app for the El Capitan theatre and check in, with the incentive of a popcorn or small gift for doing so.
After the movie, everyone walked out of the theater and one block down to Hollywood High School, where Disney has leased the athletic field and parking lot for their carnival. We went last year to a similar post-movie attraction with Toy Story 3, which also opened in June. The Cars 2 attraction was officially called the Cars 2 World Grand Prix (here's a link to their flier). To keep the carnival area from getting too crowded, the movie audience is gently ushered out of the carnival area before the audience from the next movie showing arrives. They advertise it as a 3 1/2 hours experience, including the time watching the movie.
At the entrance are models of the main characters Lightning McQueen and Mater, where you can pose for photos (a pretty long line when the crowd first goes in).
There were a whole lot of activities for kids inside the carnival area (although about 1/3 fewer than last year's Toy Story 3 carnival). There was a ride for kids to bounce up and down while harnessed to bungee cords
There was a fun tire play area in the middle of the carnival with tires to climb, a monster tire on a swing, and tires set on a wall to throw nerf mini-balls into.
In the middle of the carnival area were a tall county fair-type slide, a place to have your photo taken in front of a green screen and be superimposed in front of Cars 2 scenes, and video game consoles to try out the new Cars 2 video games. There were also an arts-and-crafts area where you could also paint an actual car and a station where an attendant would help kids use a power tool to remove bolts from a car and put them back on.
Towards the back of the area was a tented area with about a dozen cars on loan from the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire, including a 1976 AMC Pacer, one of the evil henchmen in the movie, and a racecourse where one could race three-wheel and two-wheel bicycles around a track.
I should also say that the theming of the carnival was really well done, with areas representing Tokyo, London, and Porto Corsa, Italy, the sites of the three races in the movie.
